The auction of the last round of airports in the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) takes place this Thursday (18) and the dispute over Congonhas airport, the crown jewel, should have only one interested party – the Spanish group Aena, which already operates in the Northeast, was the only one to submit a proposal.
The deadline for sending the envelopes with the initial bids ended this Monday (15) and, according to people who followed the process, CCR withdrew – a setback in the signal given to the government, which was betting on the Brazilian group to win.
To take Congonhas, in São Paulo, the winner will have to pay for investments of almost R$ 6 billion over 30 years (concession term), of which R$ 3.3 billion in this airport alone.
That’s because Congonhas leads a block with other airports: Campo Grande (MS), Corumbá (MS), Ponta Porã (MS), Santarém (PA), Marabá (PA), Carajás (PA), Altamira (PA), Uberlândia (MG ), Uberaba (MG) and Montes Claros (MG). It is not possible to acquire just one of them and the commitments are for the block.
Many of these airports are loss-making, which is why CCR would have given up on the project, given the financial difficulties to conduct other projects.
In 2019, pre-coronavirus period, Congonhas received almost 22.3 million paid passengers, between departures and arrivals, according to data from Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency). In 2021, the number was 9.4 million. That is, it was 57.6% below the year before the pandemic.
The logic of the blocks is to unite the so-called fillet with the bone. In other words, the design combined a busier airport (Congonhas) with smaller terminals that, if they were auctioned alone, might not attract investors.
Technicians from the Ministry of Infrastructure say that the Spaniards at Aena have shown themselves to be very interested in the bloc led by Congonhas since the project was presented to the market.
They said, however, that they were surprised by the possible withdrawal of CCR. Despite this, these advisors still do not know whether the Brazilian group presented proposals for other blocks or in a consortium.
The government’s attention was also drawn to the delivery of the proposal by XP Investimentos with the French operator Egis for the regional aviation block formed by the airports of Campo de Marte (SP) and Jacarepaguá (RJ), both aimed at executive aviation.
The estimated investment is R$560 million and the minimum bid is R$141.4 million.
The biggest dispute, according to government officials, should take place over the North block, formed by the airports of Belém (PA) and Macapá (AP). There are at least three proposals. The government believes that France’s Vinci, Switzerland’s Zurich and Brazil’s Socicam will be in the running. The planned investments are R$ 874.77 million.
The Ministry of Infrastructure says it did not have access to the details of the proposals. Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) only informed the government if there were proposals for all blocks without giving any type of detail, such as the consortium and the value of the offer.
The information, however, reached the government through the advisers of the groups that submitted proposals.
As expected, there were no proposals from new groups, according to information from government officials. In an election year, new groups even prospected the Brazilian market, but gave up in the face of political uncertainties.
The deterioration of the economic scenario at home and abroad also affected the appetite of new foreign groups.
Former Infrastructure Minister TarcÃsio de Freitas, a candidate for the government of São Paulo with Bolsonaro as his political godfather, tried to shield the event, bringing the process forward by a month. The idea was to avoid political contamination of infrastructure projects.
Since the coup-type demonstrations on September 7, encouraged by Bolsonaro, TarcÃsio had been explaining himself to investors interested in disputing the concessions.
In the conversations, foreigners, especially those who do not yet know the country, were concerned not only with the change in government, but also with the change in the direction of infrastructure projects.
For this reason, TarcÃsio began to put the maximum pressure on his team so that at least the auction of these airports could be successfully carried out. He has already been exploring the new concession of the NovaDutra highway (between São Paulo and Rio), whose auction took place at the end of last year, as a campaign speech.
The seventh round underwent adaptations. Initially, the inclusion of Santos Dumont (RJ) was planned, but, after challenges from the government of Rio de Janeiro, TarcÃsio, then Minister of Infrastructure, decided to leave him for a new round and grant him together with Galeão, also from Rio de Janeiro.
The postponement took place amid a discussion about the re-bidding of Galeão, arising from a return request made by the current concessionaire – Changi Airports, from Singapore.
The worsening of the economic scenario alienated possible interested parties. They are part of global groups that, abroad, face restrictions in the face of a recession scenario in Europe and the US, which should put pressure on interest rates – pillars of financing needed for infrastructure projects.
In Brazil, the situation is no different. The crisis and the expansion of expenses by the Bolsonaro government in search of reelection caused the fiscal situation to deteriorate, which helps to explain the perception of future risk (higher interest rates) for these groups that need loans. There are other uncertainties, such as the exchange rate —another potential risk factor for airport operations.
Uncertainties affect other disputes. In May, EcoRodovias alone won the Rio-Valadares road auction. In April, the government of São Paulo postponed the dispute for the concession of the North Rodoanel in the face of the economic crisis.
WHAT IS AT SAME IN THE 7TH AIRPORT AUCTION ROUND:
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North Block II: Belém International Airport – Val de Cans – Júlio Cezar Ribeiro -Belém/PA (SBBE) and Alberto Alcolumbre International Airport – Macapá/AP (SBMQ)
Expected investments: BRL 874.77 million -
General Aviation Block RJ-SP: Campo de Marte Airport – São Paulo/SP (SBMT) and Jacarepaguá Airport – Roberto Marinho – Rio de Janeiro/RJ (SBJR)
Expected investments: BRL 560.19 million -
SP-MS-PA-MG Block: Congonhas Airport – São Paulo/SP (SBSP); Campo Grande Airport – Campo Grande/MS (SBCG); Corumbá Airport – Corumbá/MS (SBCR); Ponta Porã International Airport – Ponta Porã/MS (SBPP); Maestro Wilson Fonseca Airport – Santarém/PA (SBSN); João Corrêa da Rocha Airport – Marabá/PA (SBMA); Carajás Airport – Parauapebas/PA (SBCJ); Altamira Airport – Altamira/PA (SBHT); Airport Ten. Cell Aviator César Bombonato – Uberlândia/MG (SBUL), Mário Ribeiro Airport – Montes Claros/MG (SBMK) and Mario de Almeida Franco Airport – Uberaba/MG (SBUR)
Expected investments: BRL 6 billion
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